As jurors deliberated nine hours over two days to decide her fate, Yolanda Saldivar became convinced she would get life in prison for the murder of Tejano star Selena Quintanilla Perez.
The jury dealt that final blow Thursday afternoon.Saldivar, 35, hung her head and sobbed when the sentence was read. She will have to serve at least 30 years before she can be considered for parole.
Saldivar's parents and siblings, seated behind her in the courtroom, cried uncontrollably.
Before formally sentencing her, state District Judge Mike West-er-gren asked Saldivar if she wanted to say anything. She looked at the judge and politely mumbled, "No sir" through her tears.
Selena's family showed no reaction to the sentence. The singer's widower, 26-year-old Chris Perez, kept his back turned to Saldivar and her family as her sisters wailed and hugged each other.
The jury of six men and six women declined to speak to reporters but asked to talk to Selena's family and lawyers from both sides before leaving. The Quintanillas and Perez reluctantly mingled with jurors, thanking them for their work on the case.
The family was then surrounded by security officers and escorted from the building. They refused to comment on the sentence, as did the Saldivar family.
A couple hundred Selena fans, who kept a vigil outside the courthouse all week, cheered and honked their horns when they learned of the sentence. Hours later, they were still celebrating the decision.
Defense lawyer Patricia Saum said Saldivar had been convinced she would get a life sentence.
"She kept talking about that, and I was trying to say it's a good sign that they're taking this long," Saum said. "Unfortunately, she was right and I was wrong."
Saldivar's lead lawyer, Doug Tinker, described his client as very nervous when the jury indicated it had reached a decision. "When we were waiting for them to come in, she was just saying, `Oh Mr. Tinker. Oh Mr. Tinker. Oh Mr. Tinker,"' he said. "She's scared to death that she will be harmed wherever she goes."
Both Saldivar and Tinker received several death threats before and during the trial.
Tinker said Saldivar will appeal, and he will assist her if she wants.
Meanwhile, he said, Saldivar is hopeful she will be sent to a prison where her parents and six brothers and sisters can visit her.
Prosecutors said they were confident that jurors, who found Saldivar guilty after deliberating two hours and 20 minutes on Monday, would return a stiff sentence.
Saldivar, who founded the Selena Fan Club and eventually managed the singer's beauty salons and boutiques, shot Selena in the back at a Corpus Christi, Texas, motel on March 31.
Selena's family says the shooting occurred as the singer was planning to fire Saldivar.